Glee: Stars of the Future
by ShyOne21
Summary: Futurefic! Izzy Lopez and Dianna Fabray-Berry experience the ups and downs of High School and Glee Club.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I won absolutely nothing, if I did Glee would be far different. It'd be the Rachel Berry Talent Hour with guest appearances by Brittana and Quinn Fabray. Or something like that.

Author's Note: This is a Glee Future Fic but the main characters aren't any of the existing characters. Some of you may recognize Izzy and Dianna (Izzy is Santana and Brittany's daughter, Dianna is Quinn and Rachel's) from some of my other fics but they're quite a bit older, they're in high school now.

This story takes place about twenty-two years after Glee. Brittany, Santana, Rachel, and Quinn are all about 39 years old and their daughters are 15. This fic will follow them as well as their fellow classmates and teachers.

Also, this is just a small quirk of mine and I know it's weird but I've "cast" actors for the characters in this fic. The roles are:

Brittany Robertson as Isabelle "Izzy" Lopez

Rafi Gavron as Grayson

Hayley Kiyoko as Veronica "Ronnie"

Vanessa Hudgens as Dianna Fabray-Berry

Nina Dobrev as Arianna

Felicia Day as Ms. Potts, Librarian

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Mr. Mason Chance, Math teacher

* * *

A blonde girl sat silently in the back of the library dressed in a pair of ripped jeans and converses, her foot and pencil tapping as she engaged in an intense staring contest with the clock. Sitting a few rows tables ahead of her was another boy decked out in a black hoody with headphones down around his neck. He smirked to himself as he toyed with bits of paper, rolling them into small wads.

A few tables away to her right was an Asian girl with short black hair with blonde streaks throughout. She was leaning back, boot clad feet thrown up on the table in front of her as she balanced on the back legs of the chair. She was twiddling her thumbs and looking tiredly at the young red-haired teacher sitting behind the main desk at the front of the room. The nameplate on the desk read Ms. Potts, who sat fidgeting in her chair, unnerved by the silence in the room as well as the three teenagers currently occupying it.

The blonde leaned forward, doodling on the blank piece of paper in front of her. She depicted a tale of the hijinks she'd be getting into were she not currently in detention. The page consisted of drawings of large explosions and various onomatopoeia such as Blam! And Kazoom! There was a caricature of her with a jetpack flying from the school. When she finished she looked up at the clock and could swear it had moved back a few minutes.

'It wouldn't hurt to let them out a few minutes early, would it?' was the thought running through Ms. Potts' head as she looked down at her watch which read 3:35 PM. She was supposed to keep them for ten more minutes but the tension was killing her and the young man in the front flicking pellets of paper around the room was only adding to her anxiety. She stood from her seat, drawing the attention of the three anxious teens.

The dark haired girl let the chair fall back into place and moved her feet to the ground, the blonde stopped doodling but the young man kept flicking pieces of paper about the room. Ms. Potts cleared her throat as she stepped in front of the desk. "Excuse me, it-it's been long enough. Isabelle, Veronica, Grayson, you can go now." The boy at the front of the room laughed and stood, picking up his books and heading for the door, moving his headphones over his ears. The girl with the dual hair color followed suit, slinging her backpack over one shoulder followed quickly by the blonde whose messenger bag was already over her shoulder, in her hands she clutched her doodle.

In one last attempt to assert authority she said "I hope you all have learned your lessons." This earned her a loud chuckle from the short haired young man, Grayson, who just kept moving and a raised eyebrow from the girl with blonde streaks, Veronica. She just shook her head "By the way, it's Ronnie, not Veronica." she said before leaving the room.

Ms. Potts deflated, her shoulders sagging. Isabelle gave her a small smile, "Put a little more 'oomph' behind your words next time Ms. P. No one will take your tough act serious if you're all shaky." Ms. Potts nodded before moving back behind her desk and organizing some of her papers, "I'm afraid I'll never really get used to working with teenagers. You're all incredibly frightening."

Isabelle laughed and rested her elbows on the counter before her, laying her head in her hands, "You don't have to be afraid of us you know? We're not all ready to bite your head off. The worst we'll do is….well actually it can be pretty bad, so let's think of the second worse thing. Which now that I think about it is pretty bad too." Ms. Potts looked up at her over the rim of her glasses with a look of worry on her face.

"Why don't we just focus on all our positive aspects, like….most of us bathe regularly, we don't make it TOO obvious that we're not listening, and sometimes we'll surprise you by being nice." She gave the librarian a reassuring smile which did nothing to wipe the worrisome look off of Ms. Potts face but she gave the young blonde a small smile nonetheless. "Thanks for the advice Izzy but if you stay any longer it may do more harm than good, now get along. I know you don't want to waste anymore of your afternoon here."

Izzy left her doodle on Ms. Potts' desk before walking out of the room and into the empty hallway. She made a left at the corner and headed for her locker, stopping for a moment when she saw green and white. Before she could turn around a familiar voice stopped her, "Hey, where are you going you little deviant?" Izzy sighed in relief before turning back around, smiling at the brunette standing in front of her locker. "Damn it Dianna, I'm never gonna be used to seeing you in that-that monstrosity."

Izzy put in the combination and opened her locker as the brunette chuckled, "It's just a cheerleading uniform." Izzy piled several books into her locker before taking one out and putting it in her bag, "Don't you have homework to do? Can't do that without books."

Izzy rolled her eyes before shutting the door, "It's all done already, it's so easy. How the hell does anyone fail this crap? It's like they're trying to underachieve. By the way, it's not just a uniform. It's a symbol, a way of life, a pact with the devil. It represents all things mean and icky." This time it was Dianna rolling her eyes. She started walking down the hallway with Izzy on her tail before replying.

"Oh don't be so overdramatic. I'm still me even if I have this big green Q on my chest. You just need to be more open minded.", Dianna poked her friend in the shoulder, earning a scowl from the shorter blonde who shrugged and continued following Dianna's path.

"I'm open to the idea that right now you are the exception to the rule of the soul sucking cheerleader succubus but that the transformation may simply not be complete yet." She nodded positively as Dianna laughed, slapping her in the shoulder and hooking their arms together. "Well you wouldn't be you without all these crazy theories so if you can overlook me being a hellspawn in training I think I can overlook you being a total geek. However, I still think you need to read less. Knowledge is the enemy of sanity."

Izzy nodded and let her friend lead them through the hallway, "Maybe you're right, I should totally join the Union for Stupid Teens. I've been going about things wrong the whole time," Izzy slapped her forehead, "what was I thinking? Trying to get an education when I should just dumb it all down and join the witless! Idiocy is the path to happiness, you've cleared the rain clouds from above my head Di!" She clutched her friend's shoulder dramatically, giving her a forlorn look.

The brunette cheerleader shook her head, unimpressed by her shorter friend's dramatics, "Point taken Iz, calm down there shorty. I don't want you going out and getting all stupid, Kesha-Style. I just meant dumb it down so us plebeians can understand you." Izzy ceased her act and trotted along "Got it captain. I have a question for you, since you're on the inside now and all. Is stupidity a turn on? Is that why so many of the guys around here are all meathead-like?"

Dianna sighed and stopped, Izzy frowned up at her. "Hey, why'd you stop? Are you mad? I'll stop." The brunette shook her head and smiled. "No worries, I knew when I became a cheerleader it'd be open season for you and I can deal with that. Mostly because I've got enough dirt to bury you six feet under if you ever get too out of control."

"Oh please, you've got nothing." Izzy settled back against the doorframe grinning up at her friend. "Oh really? One hyphenated word Iz, Spider-Man." Izzy tensed up and groaned, "Ok, you've got something. So why'd you stop?" With a smile Dianna made a motion to the room before them with her hand, "We've reached our destination."

Izzy looked to her right and found herself looking right into the gym which was set up for cheerleading practice, the gym mats were set out and there were trampolines scattered about. Her eyes widened and breath got caught in her throat, "Oh no, I am not going to sit through your cheerleading practice Di, I can't." She made a move to walk away but Dianna caught her arm.

"You don't have much of a choice Little Bee, the busses are all gone and your moms will be mad you got detention again. So you walk all the way home, call one of your moms to come pick you up, or stay and watch cheer practice and my mom can pick us up and we'll just say you were waiting for me." She grinned and tapped her foot, looking down at the other girl, whose frown deepened. Her mom would be pissed, this was the third time she'd gotten detention for skipping class since school started. And it was only October.

"Grr you're sneaky. Nice to know your skills at deception haven't dulled since joining the cheerios. Fine, I'll stay. But know that I will be thoroughly pouting for the next hour." She crossed her arms as Dianna smiled and led them into the room. "Oh you're so cute, thinking practice only runs for an hour."

The blonde groaned again as she moved to the bleachers and settled near the top, putting her bag down and pulling out a comic book. Before she could get to reading she was interrupted when she sensed someone standing over. Sighing tiredly she shut the comic and set it down, "What do you want Arianna?" she addressed the girl without looking up. The slim brunette looked down at the blonde darkly, "What are you doing here? Not looking to join up are you? Because we already have enough guys on the team."

"Witty as ever Ari, I don't know what I'd do without your beautiful voice flinging insults my way daily." The cheerleader put her hand on her hip and scoffed "You should be honored you're even a blip on my radar. I have more important things to deal with."

"And yet in your busy schedule you take the time to talk down at me, how nice. Why don't you leave me alone and go make sure your panties are tight and high, can't have a moment where all male eyes aren't firmly set on your ass can we?" The blonde snarked, grinning up at the now huffing brunette. "Jealous that I get attention and you don't little girl? Don't worry, one day you'll find that very special boy desperate enough to date you."

"You would be the expert on being desperate wouldn't you?" Izzy shot back, now glaring at the head cheerleader standing before her. She could swear she heard Arianna growl before she turned to leave, stepping down a few seat before turning back to face the blonde, "Enjoy practice, try not to drool too much. We both know how much you love cheerleaders. Well, maybe just one cheerleader." She smirked and made it the rest of the way down the bleachers before joining the other cheerleaders.

Izzy fumed as she watched Arianna walk away, looking over to where Dianna was stretching and warming up. The brunette looked up to the bleachers and waved at Izzy who tried to calm down and waved back. She sat back against the bleachers and tried to go back to reading her comic, trying to shake off Arianna's last comment.

* * *

Outside of Quigley High School stood a brown haired man looking in his late twenties. He looked up at the large building and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Walking forward, he took in the atmosphere as he made his way to the front office where he looked over the counter at the bored looking secretary, "How can I help you?"

"I'm here to talk to the Principal, I'm the new math teacher, Mason Chance." She nodded and flipped through the file before her and waving for him to come in. He walked around the counter and made his way to the door labeled Principal Leonard Kelley. Mason stepped into the room just as Principal Kelley was hanging up the phone. "Good afternoon Mason, please take a seat."

Mason took a seat in front of the large desk and set down his messenger bag. "First of all I want to welcome you to the Quigley High School Faculty and say that based on your record I'm sure that you'll fit right in. I just want to make sure you know that your current position may not be permanent."

The math teacher nodded, "I completely understand. Right now I'm just filling in while one of your teachers takes her maternity leave but I hope you'll consider me for full employment." Principal Kelley smiled and nodded, the gray haired large man held his hand out for Mason to shake. "Well if you live up to your record I'll definitely think about keeping you around." Mason shook his hand before sitting back down, "Now when we spoke on the phone there was something else you wanted to talk about Mr. Chance. What would that be?"

The younger man nodded, clearing his throat before speaking up, "I don't mean to impose and I understand my position is temporary, but I was wondering if you'd ever considered starting a school Glee Club."

* * *

AN: There it is, hope you guys liked it. Some characters were introduced and there are more to come. Please review, I'd really like to know what you guys think considering this is fic will focus on original characters for the most part. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: So I'm super sad that no one reviewed the first chapter. If you read, please let me know what you think! This fic is experimental and I really want to know what you guys think of it.

Just to reiterate, the cast is, I have a "cast" for this fic, which can be seen in the first chapter. This chapter introduces two new character, Mickie, who is played by Ariana Grande and Coach Sylvia, who is played by Missi Pyle.

* * *

Dianna was panting in a corner of the gym, trying to catch her breath as they took a break in cheer practice. All the cheerleaders were sweating from head to toe but Coach Sylvia and Arianna continued barking out orders throughout the break, instructing the girls on how to better relax before practice started up again. Dianna was slumped against the floor, taking sips from her water bottle when a bubbly girl with red-velvet colored hair bounced over to her.

"Hey Dianna! Practice is going great isn't it? Everyone's all tired, but we're getting better, which is great! We'll be number one in no time, all we have to do is work, work, work! I hope everyone's thinking of how to do better after the break's done, I really think we can be cheerier.", says the red-head, talking a mile a minute. Dianna looks at the peppy girl, now seemingly in deep thought, and wonders for the millionth time how she could still be so energetic.

"Yeah Mickie, whatever you say. Hey, do you know what's with Coach and Ari today? They're pushing us harder than ever." Mickie snapped out of her thoughts and smiled broadly, "Oh I think it's just because we have an audience today. See!", Mickie pointed at the lone blonde sitting on the bleachers.

Dianna raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow as she looked up at the miniscule redhead, "Okay, first of all, that's not an audience. That's Izzy and you know she hates cheerleading, cheerleaders, pep, and everything else that has anything to do with school spirit, fluff, or ponies. Secondly, they're working us this hard for an audience of one?", the brunette stood gingerly and took another sip from her water bottle as Mickie nodded, ponytail bobbing behind her.

"That's right. Coach says it's the amount of spirit we give the crowd that matters, not how much crowd there is to give spirit to.", this made Dianna roll her eyes. Coach Sylvia was one for platitudes, for every situation she seemed to have a life lesson to dole out. Coach Sylvia had taught them that 'An apple a day may keep the doctor away but it won't keep the lbs at bay, so don't go crazy with the fruit!' and 'Your education comes first. Or at least that's the lie you'll tell everyone outside this room.'

Dianna looked back over to the bleachers where Izzy was sitting, though it was more like fidgeting. From where she was standing it looked like Izzy was trying to balance a book on her head, and failing miserably because she dropped it, sending it tumbling down a few steps and causing a loud enough bang to draw attention to her. Dianna just smirked as her friend sheepishly picked up the book and scrambled back up the bleachers. A loud whistle ripped her from her thoughts.

"Ladies! Back on the mats, if you thought the first hour was rough you won't survive the second!", yelled the dark haired Coach Sylvia, whistle dangling from around her neck and clipboard clutched tightly in her hand, a cap thrown on her head. "What I've learned from the ghastly display thus far is that I haven't been nearly hard enough on you all. We need to work harder on your endurance, but that'll start tomorrow morning. Right now it's back to work on the Flying Crane Routine, now line up!"

All the cheerleaders quickly got into their positions, the exception being Arianna, who had taken to being Coach Sylvia's second-in-command and somewhat of a Junior Drill Sergeant. She had a keen-eye for observation and an extensive array of insults that she handed out at even the slightest misstep. Her eyes were currently locked on Dianna, who shivered in response. 'Oh no, here we go again.'

* * *

Mason Chance walked down the hallway towards the classroom that he'd been told would be his starting tomorrow. He sighed heavily as he stepped inside and turned on the lights before inspecting the desk and whiteboard. He looked out at the medium sized classroom from behind the desk. The walls were covered with posters of equations and math lessons, one wall had a cork board on it with the top scoring tests pinned to it. He sat back on the chair and in an instant it fell apart, sending him crashing to the ground.

Mason rolled to his side and inspected the pieces of what was a very comfy chair, "Perfect. Not even my first day and I'm already breaking school property.", he shook his head and uselessly tried to piece the chair back together.

"Looks like they got to you early.", said a female voice from behind him, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin and sending him back to the ground. He looked up to see a bespectacled redheaded woman with her hand over her mouth in shock, "Oh I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She held out her hand to help him up and he happily took it, "Don't worry about it, the floor's my best friend."

She looked at him curiously, eyebrows arched as he nervously chuckled, "I don't know what I meant by that, sorry. I guess I'm just a nervous and maybe a little concussed.", he smiled and rubbed the back of his head. She shook her head and offered him a kind smile, "You must be the new mathematics teacher. I'm Virginia Potts, the Librarian.", once again she held out her hand and he shook it, taking a moment to take in how pretty she was.

"I'm Mason Chance, nice to meet you. Uh, what do you mean they got to me early?", he looked at her questioningly and rested back against the desk gingerly, hoping it wouldn't collapse as well. "Oh, I meant the students. They have a habit of hazing any new faculty members. And I mean ANY new faculty members. On Mrs. Newburg's first day as Principal Kelley's secretary they glued all her office supplies to her desk and stapled all the files to the ceiling."

She nodded seriously as his eyebrows raised, his brown eyes wide, "Wow uh, they're really inventive, huh?" He chortled, looking around the room, trying to spot any other traps. Ms. Potts laughed and put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't be bothered trying to look, trust me when I tell you you'll just drive yourself crazy. They've had a lot of practice, they're like hormonal little ninjas with acne."

At this Mason laughed and relaxed a bit, crossing his arms before asking "Oh yeah? What did they do to you?", his smile dropped when he saw her shoulders stiffen. "I don't want to talk about it!" he nodded in understanding and looked back down at the pieces of the chair, "So what do I do about this?"

"Nothing really. The custodial staff is used to cleaning up messes like this, it's why their yearly bonuses are so high. You'll have a new chair before classes start tomorrow." he placed the chair's arm back down on the floor with the other pieces and let out the anxious breath he'd been holding in. "Good to know, I don't think I can afford getting on the Principal's bad side. If I haven't already."

"What do you mean?", he shrugged and kicked at the ground "It's nothing. I just said something I probably shouldn't have."

"Oh no. Did you say something about his toupee? He's sensitive about that." He shook his head quickly before responding, "No, no. Of course not, I couldn't even tell." though now that he thought about it, the hair on top of his head didn't match the hair at the back but he'd muse on this later, "I just mentioned to him that at one of the schools I used to work at I was director of a Glee club and I thought it'd be nice to bring something like that here."

Ms. Potts rested back against the wall, her arms crossed as she listened to him, "That does sound really….interesting. What did he say?", Mason made an odd face as he sucked in a breath. "He didn't really say anything. He just sort of laughed and wished me good luck." She smiled up at him and shook her head, "Well at least it wasn't a no." He laughed along with her before he continued, "I probably shouldn't have brought it up. It's just that at my old school all the kids had so much fun and they all became so close. Maybe I was just trying to make myself more comfortable."

"There's nothing wrong with that. I've been here for four years and I'm still not comfortable. Maybe after you've been here for a while he'll reconsider it. The fact that he didn't mock you or yell at you means he finds you amusing. It's demeaning but it's a plus." Mason furrowed his brows in confusion but ultimately shrugged it off. "I guess that's good."

The teachers' discussion was interrupted by the sound of sneakers shuffling and hushed voices traveling down the hallway, "Do you have the paint canisters? Good. Duck tape? Check. Alright, now all we have to do is…" A moment later two boys walked into the room, one blonde, Caucasian, and rather plump while the other was a lanky Hispanic boy. The smirks on their faces instantly dropped when they spotted the two teachers currently standing over their project.

"Jeremy, Glenn. Are you the ones who did this to Mr. Chance's chair? Is that spray paint?" As Ms. Potts looked down at the two boys over her glasses they turned to one another with worried looks on their faces before quickly dropping their gear and running away. "Oh damn it." She contemplated running after them but stopped when she heard a laugh from behind her. "Well, hopefully this means they didn't have time to set any more little surprises for me."

Ms. Potts leant down to pick up their fallen supplies, "I have to take these to the office and report them. I hope to see you tomorrow, Mr. Chance. Good luck, you might need it.", she sighed and shot him one last smile before starting on her way to the office. He watched her for a few moments before picking his bag up from the desk and heading for the exit with thoughts of his first day at Quigley High School running through his head.

From her place on the bleachers Izzy winced for what must've been the hundredth time when she saw one of the girls miss a handspring and fall flat on her face. Yet every time either the Coach or Arianna made them get right up and do it again. 'I thought this was cheerleading practice. I've seen more torture today than in Saw 23.'She winced again when she saw Dianna hit the ground. Arianna was immediately at her side, yelling down at her and showing her how to do the flip perfectly. 'Easy for her to look all haughty when she doesn't have a two-faced troll screeching in her face.'

She shook her head and turned her attention back to one of her comics, no cheerleading in there. It kept her distracted and passed the time, despite all the falls and performances time still seemed to creep by. She was so bored she'd almost lost her Algebra II book trying to balance it. Arianna blew her own whistle, drawing Izzy's attention away from her book. She called for a sixty second stretch break before getting into the final three routines. She watched as the girls mulled around and stretched and her eyes were drawn to Dianna. Gulping, she tried to look away and turn back to her comic but Dianna turned and bent over, stretching her legs.

'Oh come on. Why can't this just be over.' She finally managed to look away after berating herself again. She got back on track with her reading and before she knew it the Coach was blowing the whistle again. "Alright girls, mediocre as always. I'll see you all back here tomorrow morning. Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst! Dismissed!"

Izzy packed her books back into her bag and stood up to set off down the steps to greet a wobbly Dianna. The brunette cheerleader stumbled into Izzy, who gasped in shock and bit her lip as her friend rested against her side. "Sooooo tired Iz. Carry me.", she stepped back and held her arms out. The blonde laughed it off and went to pick up her gym bag. "This is as much as I'll carry for you, so you're out of luck" Dianna shrugged and trotted along behind Izzy, picking up her backpack as she walked out of the gym, "Wait, I need to shower first."

"No, no, no, no, no, no. I came to your "practice" and watched you all prancing around, I'm not sticking around this school and these girls a moment longer than I have to." Dianna pouted down at the shorter blonde who looked straight ahead "I'm gonna be all stinky in the car and it'll be all your fault." She crossed her arms and put on a mock glare.

Unaffected Izzy just opened the double doors that led outside, "I think I'll live. Besides, you've been stinkier." Izzy laughs as her friend slaps her on the shoulder and sneers playfully at her. They hear a honk from across the parking lot and see Dianna's mom, Rachel, sitting in the driver's seat waving at them. They both smiled up at the older woman as they drew closer. Izzy tossed Dianna's gym bag in the back and closed the door behind the brunette when she flung herself in the backseat of her mother's SUV, stretching out and resting her head on her arms.

The shorter blonde slipped into the front seat and buckled up, listening to Rachel and Dianna talk. "How was practice hun?", all Rachel got in return was a grumble, "You poor thing. Try not to fall asleep back there, I don't want you rolling off the seat.", another grumble from the exhausted brunette in the back. "Alright, I love you too." Rachel turned back to the front and smiled sideways at Izzy. "And how are you?"

Rachel never failed to make Izzy laugh by just being herself, it'd been that way since she was a baby and Auntie Rachel had shown her musicals while she played with Dianna's Gold Star plushie. "I'm good Aunt Rachel, how were auditions?" Rachel pulled out of the school parking lot and groaned, "Ugh, horrible. I just can't seem to find the right actress. Each of them has something I like but we haven't found anyone who encompasses all the charisma, instincts, voice, and coordination that we're looking for in a lead actress."

Izzy nodded her head as she listened to Rachel go on about the auditions for her play. Rachel had gone from Multiple-Time Tony Award Winning Actress to One-Time Tony Award Winning Director and she was now beginning casting on her second original production. "Don't worry Auntie Ray, you'll find the right person. You always do eventually." The older brunette smiled at the blonde teen beside her, sometimes still amazed that the girl beside her was the spawn of Santana and Brittany. She remembers watching the girl grow up and the transformation the two former cheerleaders had undergone over the years.

"Thank you Izzy. So, detention again?" The young blonde shrunk back in her seat 'Damn, I forgot about her psychic powers.' Izzy sighed and shrugged, avoiding looking at the older woman. "Well uh, you see…" she took one glance at Rachel who had her eyes set on the road but she could see a disapproving glance forming, Izzy heaved a heavy sigh "Yes I did."

This time Rachel sighed and shook her head, "This is the third time since school started Izzy. Did you skip class again?" The young blonde nodded, looking down at the floor. "The classes are all so easy." As she stopped at a red light, the Broadway brunette glanced down at the younger girl, "That's no excuse. You have to go to class and get and educ-"

"I am getting an education! All on my own! Without class! I'm one of the only kids in class who actually reads the textbooks, no matter how dry they are. A month in a half into the school year and the class is already three weeks behind. I don't think it's fair that I have to sit through a lesson I understood the first time and have passed by." Izzy interrupted before quieting down again, slumping back in her seat and crossing her arms. "Sorry."

Seeing the pout forming on the blonde's face Rachel couldn't help but think how much like Santana she looked at the moment. From the back she heard Dianna shift in her seat, "It's kind of true mom. Izzy's a complete wiz plus this time she only skipped math. When're you gonna use that?" the brunette cheerleader shrugged before sitting back. Rachel rolled her eyes at her daughter's obvious dislike of the subject.

"I'm not doubting Izzy intelligence and I understand how difficult it can be to deal with peers you're far superior to but we all have our crosses to bear. By the way Dianna, do I need to start checking your math homework?" She looked back at her daughter with a grin on her face as the younger brunette's eyes widened and she pretended to lull back to sleep. "Look Izzy, I don't want to tell you what to do. That's your mothers' jobs, just like it's your job to pretend to ignore parental advice until it's convenient for you. Just go to class."

The blonde nodded as they pulled to a stop in front of her house, "I'll take it under advisement. Thanks for the ride Auntie Ray." She leaned over to hug the older woman, "Have a joyous morning workout Di." She smiled as she looked back at the cheerleader who merely shook her head "You're so cute, you know that shortie? See you tomorrow. In class I hope." She held her hands together in a 'prayer' motion making the other girl laugh as she stepped out of the car.

Izzy walked up the steps, a small blush on her cheeks as she looked back to see Dianna waving goofily at her from the back seat, and used her key to unlock the door, throwing her messenger bag and jacket near the vicinity of the coat rack before making her way further into the house and taking a small whiff of the air. Smiling she made a beeline for the kitchen, making sure to lean over the back of the couch to ruffle her 8-Year Old brother's hair, "What's up runt?" He groaned and brushed his hair back into place, his eyes never leaving the television.

Walking into the kitchen she was greeted by the sight of Santana pressing Brittany against the kitchen counter, dropping kisses along her collarbone as the older blonde smiled and giggled. "Mami, Mama! Cut that out! We have rules about that in this household, no necking in any of the rooms used by everyone."

Brittany just laughed and moved back over to the stove to check on the rice as Santana grumbled and went to the drawers, "You know all I ask is for a little alone time with my wife in the kitchen but no, there's always this tiny blonde moocher running around my house complaining about being scarred for life." The Latina shook her head as she set the silverware down at the table.

"You know Mami, I wouldn't complain as much if my mothers didn't try to have their 'alone time' in every room in the house." Said the young blonde as she set the plates down on the table. "We wouldn't have to keep trying different rooms if you didn't keep walking in. Ever since you were little you really got around a lot for having such little legs." Santana smiled down at her daughter as she took her place at the table.

Izzy huffed as she sat down to her mother's right, before she could open her mouth to reply her other mother intervened and placed a pot of rice down in the middle of the table "Okay you two, stop the violence. You two or so alike sometimes I forget you came from me." She smiled and rolled her eyes when she heard the simultaneous 'No we're not!' from the table, "Gabe! Shut that off, dinner's ready." Brittany took her place at the table, sitting across from Santana as the shaggy haired, tan skinned brunette eight year old walked in and hopped up into his seat.

Once they were each served they began digging in when Gabe spoke up, "Mama, do you and Mami lick each other?" Two pairs of eyes widened and one very loud cackle could be heard from the youngest female at the table as Santana spat some rice and meat back onto her plate. Seemingly unfazed by the question Brittany just looked down at the little boy "Why do you ask?"

"Well since most animals don't have lips and can't kiss they do other stuff like rub noses or lick each other's faces, like dogs and cats." Santana breathed a huge sigh of relief and shot a glare in Izzy's direction as the teen calmed a bit, wiping a tear from her eye and pointing at the look on her mother's face. Brittany just smiled down at her son, "That's right, was that what you were watching?"

His messy mop shook as he nodded his head, "Yeah, they were showing a bunch of answers to questions about animals. They showed bonobo monkeys and dogs and squirrels and horses and giraffes. They showed ducks too but they said ducks don't nuzzle, whatever that is, to show they like each other. They said they just do it to clean each other." The brown eyed boy looked crestfallen as he took another bite of meat as he looked up at his mother.

"Well sometimes the Discovery Channel is wrong. Ducks show affection the same way all animals do." She smiled and nodded, shooting a look at Santana who smiled back. From the other corner of the table they heard gagging noises and turned to see their daughter mock vomiting into her food. Both rolled their eyes before the attention turned back to their little boy, who had a satisfied smile on his face.

"Well look who's all jokes tonight. If you put as much work into getting to class as you did into making up these jokes you wouldn't have gotten detention again." Izzy looked between her mothers, first to Santana who had a critical look on her face then to Brittany who shrugged, "Your teacher called me earlier to let me know." The older blonde stood up to start clearing the table and Izzy was quickly on her feet helping, hoping to avoid the look her Mami was giving her.

She dumped a few plates into the sink when Brittany leaned over to whisper, "Be glad I was able to calm her down, but please don't let it happen again." She placed the last plate in the sink with the silverware and smoothed out a lock of the younger girl's hair before moving away and calling for Gabe to come into the living room with her. Izzy slowly turned to look back at her mother. "Oh come on now, have I ever bit your head off for this?"

Izzy put her thumb and forefinger mere centimeters apart, "A little bit." she said nervously as Santana shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Look you know I'm mad so lets skip that part. You can tell your Mama is disappointed so we can skip that and you can go right to feeling guilty. So all that's left is the punishment." Santana stood and moved to the sink to help Izzy start washing the dishes as the blonde gulped, thinking 'Woe is me.'

* * *

AN: And that was Chapter Two. I know not a whole lot happened but I'm just trying to set the stage for everything and flesh out some of the main characters a bit. Please, please review? I want to know what you guys think.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you all so much for the reviews I hope you like this chapter as well, I'm Introducing quite a few new characters this chapter so I'm giving a small update on the "cast" for this fic.

Brittany Robertson as Isabelle "Izzy" Lopez

Vanessa Hudgens as Dianna Fabray-Berry

Nina Dobrev as Arianna

Molly C. Quinn as Jenny

Alexander Ludwig as Charlie

Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Oliver "Ollie"

Q'orianka Kilcher as Shania

Ariana Grande as Mickie

Hayley Kiyoko as Veronica "Ronnie"

Rafi Gavron as Grayson

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Mason Chance

Felicia Day as Ms. Potts

Missi Pyle as Coach Sylvia

There are other characters introduced in passing in this chapter but they'll be getting full introductions later. Again, I just like casting the characters to help get an image of what the characters look like in my head and on the page.

Hoping you guys like this, please review and tell me what you think!

* * *

Mason Chance strolled into Quigley High School and instantly felt as if he'd walked into a war zone. Unlike the day before when he'd easily meandered down the empty hallways, the halls were now loaded with students, all scrambling to move past one another. As he walked along the path to his room he took note of the various staples of the high school hierarchy. There were the football players, donning their letterman jackets and talking loudly, some with their arms flung over the shoulder of some pretty young girl. A trio of bespectacled young men walked by him silently, their heads hanging low.

He saw a group of girls dressed to the nines with purses that cost more than what he made in two weeks pointing at various people in the hallway and laughing, taking note of a dark skinned girl in particular who seemed to be in charge as she motioned for the girls to get moving. He noticed a small group of kids dressed in dark clothes. Looking around he smirked and shook his head, still observing the mass of teen bodies ever moving down the hall. He took note of Ms. Potts trying to usher people into their classes and answering questions, looking far more flustered than she had the evening before. He even saw a frizzy haired lanky boy with a camcorder walking around being followed by a girl with a notepad.

As he continued walking, a voice broke his concentration. He could hear singing coming from across the hall as a pale redhead made her way through the halls. He didn't recognize the song but there was no denying the girl had a beautiful voice. Mason looked around to see if anyone else had noticed and was surprised to see no one else reacting, treating this as if it were an everyday thing. A second later the girl was walking passed him and into his classroom feet away but rather than walk through the threshold she tumbled right over it, landing in a heap on the floor.

Mason rushed forward "Oh my god, are you okay?" He held his hand out to the girl who just smiled up at him, groaning as she took his hand and pulled herself up. "Of course I'm fine, thank you." She dusted off and straightened out her sweater and plaid skirt, adjusting her headband before picking her bag up.

"Little Miss Show Tunes is used to tripping over her own big feet anyway. Or maybe she finally decided to bow down and worship me." Said a dark eyed brunette as she grinned down at the smaller red head. "Very funny Arianna, I'll have you know I'll do no such thing and while I admit that I'm not always the most graceful my other talents more than make up for any shortcomings I may have in my coordination." The redhead nodded as Mason marveled at the speed and eloquence of her retort.

"And what talents would those be? Being the ultimate buzz kill? Your failure to grasp how few rat's asses I give about you? Being a walking fashion disaster? Oh I know, you mean your uncanny ability to ward of any and all human beings right?" Arianna looked pleased with herself as the redhead shifted in place and looked down at her burgundy sweater and maroon plaid skirt. She huffed before turning her attention back on the other girl. "You hold no power of intimidation over me Arianna because unlike most, I have strong character and as such your sharp words will not penetrate my thick skin."

The head cheerleader looked down at the other girl with a smile "Which one of those things do you want me to make fun of first. There's so much I could use but I'd feel bad, it's just too easy Jenny. Come back when you learn to speak like a normal human being." She began walking back towards her seat but Jenny shot back once more "Proper grammar and syntax are essential to a happy and successful life!"

"Get a tan." Arianna fired back, earning laughs from those around her as she sat down. Mason watched the exchange in silence, worried about what he was in for and having the distinct feeling that this wasn't the first time an exchange like this had occurred. With a huff and a stomp of her foot Jenny turned to look up at him "Aren't you going to reprimand her? If not for her remarks then she must be disciplined for wearing a skirt far too short to be considered appropriate."

Mason just gaped at the redhead before she groaned and stomped to her desk in the front row. The bell rang, signifying the start of class and Mason dropped his bag by the side of the desk and went to the board to write out his name. "Good Morning students. My name is Mr. Chance and I will be your Algebra II teacher until Mrs. Ramos gets back from maternity leave. Now I've heard from Principal Kelley that this class has been a little rocky so far because of all the substitutes you've had but I'm here to change that." A student in the back of the class raised her hand. "A question already? Good, I like that. Yes?"

"You're hot." said the brunette at the back of the class. "Anybody have an actual question? Remember there are no stupid questions. Just inappropriate ones." Another hand went up immediately "Can I get your number?" The comment ripped a sigh from Chance as he shook his head. "We'll just wait a bit for questions then. Let's just get this ship sailing on it's inaugural cruise!" He smiled at the students, looking for laughs and found nothing but a few glares and the leering eyes of teen girls from the back of the classroom.

He dug the textbook out of his bag and opened it up. "Well then can anybody tell me where your last teacher left off?" Again he was met with complete silence. "Ok so maybe you don't know the page. What kind of math problems were you working on?" Unreadable stone faces stared back at him with clueless expressions, some turning to each other questioningly. "Did you guys work out of the book at all?" At this a majority of the students shook their head and someone in the back yelled out "We have a book?"

The room degenerated into laughter while Mason grew increasingly dejected. He opened up his notebook and saw that his lesson plan was falling apart before his eyes. Before he could freak out, a blonde girl with a beanie on her head, cargo pants, and chucks walked into the classroom several minutes late already looking bored. She took a moment to look for an empty desk and took a seat next to a brunette who'd been waving at her. The blonde looked up at the front of the class with a puzzled expression on her face, realizing Mason was there for the first time.

Mason cleared his throat and addressed the new addition "Excuse me, why are you late?" The blonde looked him up and down with an insulted look on her face. "Be glad I walked in. Better question, who are you?" He turned to underline his name but the scowl didn't leave the blonde's face as she sat back and crossed her arms. Mason was at least intent on making sure he let it be know that he wasn't going to accept sass. "Well then Miss, since you see fit to walk into class late why don't you tell us where we are in the book?"

Unmoved by the challenge the young blonde leant over and pulled the textbook from her messenger bag, which was adorned with numerous buttons and stickers. She opened it quickly before slumping back in her seat. "We're on Chapter 2. We just started on linear equations. The last couple substitutes tried to review all the basics but most of the doorknobs in here don't even remember slope-intercept form. We're supposed to be on Chapter 5 though, so I'd appreciate if you sped it up a little. That answer good enough for you teach? I have some sleep to catch up on."

The brunette beside her covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled at Mason's shocked expression. "W-what's your name?" The little blonde rolled her eyes and cracked a smile "My name is Ms. Lopez and I'll be your teacher today." Once again the class broke out in laughter and Mason began to rub his temple thinking 'It's going to be a very long day.'

* * *

Later in the day Izzy slams her locker shut and jumps when a pasty face appears in its' place. The boy laughed and adjusted his glasses over his nose as the blonde narrowed her eyes at him and slapped him on the shoulder. "Damn it Ollie! Don't scare me like that!" She hit him again and he held his hands up, still laughing "Ok, ok! I give. Man you should've seen your face." She rolled her eyes and turned to start walking away, Ollie following close behind. "Hey, did you bring anything for lunch?"

"Nope. I'm being edgy today and eating lunch room food." They entered the chaotic lunch room and quickly stepped back to avoid being ran over by a small group of students. Izzy mumbling "Freshman" under her breath as they began looking for a table. "Why do you ask anyway?" She grumbled as they looked around the room and over dozens of heads looking for a free table. "My mom keeps trying out our deli's new sandwiches on me and they all suck. She keeps trying to make me eat kosher but I can't, I love bacon and she can't stop our love!" He pronounced loudly. Izzy slapped her hand over his mouth.

"Shut up! Or do you want the Jock Squad to reconsider why they haven't slushied you in a week?" Ollie grimaced and shivered "I don't think I have to worry about that. I've been working out. Look, there's a table!" He pointed across the room and the two teens rushed over to claim it, placing their bags down on top of it. Ollie pulled the sandwich bags out of the brown paper bag he was carrying. "I'll leave them out as offerings to the natives. Those football oafs will eat anything."

"Right, so what's this about you working out?" He smiled as they headed over to the lunch line. "I've been doing squats! I'm gonna be ripped soon and all the ladies will be all like 'Ooh Oliver, I'm so sorry I said I'd rather take a bath in battery acid than go out on a date with you. Come give me your sweetness!' And then I'd be all like-"

"That's enough of that. While I appreciate your ever-present, if somewhat unfounded, confidence, no amount of squats will ever get the guys of this school to back off or the girls to see beyond your bank account and love of more than just football and chasing tail." She looked over the selections at the counter, scrunching her nose up before grabbing a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, two dinner rolls, and a cup of jell-o. Ollie picked out fries and a grilled chicken sandwich with cheese and bacon.

Ollie placed his hand over his heart and put on a look of mock offense "Your lack of confidence hurts me, it really does. Besides, that's not true for everybody. You're not like all the other girls." She scoffed and paid for her lunch before looking back at him. "By the way, could you please, please, please pay for my lunch? I'll be your best friend. The Robin to your Batman."

She laughed and shook her head but paid nonetheless. They both gasped when they were almost ran over by a tan girl dressed in all black who was followed by a similarly tanned boy with shoulder length brown hair dressed in a button up shirt, vest and crisp jeans who turned to look at them apologetically. "Sorry for her, manners aren't her strong suit." He looked Izzy up and down, grinning, causing the blonde to shoot a disgusted glare his way before walking off with Ollie as the Latin boy continued to smile after them.

"God that guy's such a creeper. I wish he'd stick to his floozies and leave me be." She growled as she sat down. The sandwiches they'd left behind now absent, Ollie took his seat across from her and shrugged, instantly digging into his bacon-y treat. "Eh it's probably just because he knows it gets under your skin. Ooh or maybe he wants you because you're an actual challenge unlike all those other girls. It's classic, he chases you, you turn him down. Eventually he lets his guard down around you and you find it endearing and bam! Love city."

She chewed on her spaghetti before answering. "This isn't some cheesy ass rom-com Ollie, this is High School. Besides this story doesn't end with the hard-edged girl and the player falling in love and you know why." He nodded tiredly "Yeah, yeah I know. I still don't get why you won't play the Hot or Not Game with me though. Hell you won't even tell me who else pings on your gaydar."

"Because I'm not a skeevy skirt-chaser and gaydar doesn't exist. Besides, isn't guessing half the fun? Oh and quiet down would ya? I don't want to broadcast that specific fact to the world you know." The boy nodded and looked dejected as she stole a few fries. As they ate she directed her glance over to the jock/cheerleader table where Dianna sat beside a tall blonde boy, his arm around her shoulder. "Hey, Izzy. Chill with the evil eyes and gazing unless you really want everyone to know about your appreciation of the female form. Especially her female form." She waved him off and took a big bite out of a meatball, shooting one last glare at the jock before looking back at Ollie who'd started reading while eating. "Is that the Bendis Auto-Biography? I didn't even know it was out."

"It came out this morning, I swept by Borders on the way to school. I can't put it down. He talks about everything from Ultimate Spider-Man to Fear Itself." She tried to snatch the book from him but he was too quick, moving the book inches out of her grasp. "Fine, but the minute you finish can I pleeeease borrow it? I need to know how he thought up the Trapmaster arc in Spectacular Spider-Girl."

He nodded his assent, still munching mindlessly on his fries. They both looked up when a familiar face stood in front of their table. "Hey Shania, what's up?" They both looked up at the tan girl with light brown hair tied in a braid down to her back. "Oh the usual, trying to save the world one signature at a time. Are you guys in? Please say you are!" She held up two clipboards and hopped in place a little. Ollie and Izzy laughed before taking the clipboards and reading the petition.

Ollie raised an eyebrow "Wait you want kids to stop bringing their pets to show and tell? Why?" She moved around to sit on the other side of the table and clasped her fingers together before taking a deep breath and explaining. "These pets are used to the home environment being their natural habitat and by taking them to show and tell they are thrown for a loop. They are left wondering where they are, who these new people are, and what all these strange new smells are. These unnecessary stressors only lead to the possibility of increased health problems. I aim to alleviate these pets of the public torture that is Show and Tell! Just because an animal is a pet doesn't mean we don't have to fight for their rights too!"

Her voice grew louder as she went into her explanation, ending with her standing up, fist clenched, breathing hard as she looked down at her friends. After a moment she smiled down at the pair, unaware of the odd looks she was getting from others throughout the cafeteria. Izzy and Ollie both signed, hoping to quickly be rid of the overexcited girl. "Thank you for your participation."

"Never a problem, we just want to help the poor unfortunate house pets of the world." Izzy said seriously, bumping fists with Shania as the girl laughed. The long haired girl stiffened and tilted her head to the side a moment before a football came whizzing passed, barely missing her head. The ball soared passed the three and crashed right into the new math teacher, Mr. Chance. The students laughed until the Vice Principal walked in, pointed to three of the football players and called them to her office.

Ollie let out the breath he was holding in and looked from the teacher and his fallen belongings back to Shania who was smiling like she hadn't almost been hit by a football. "Well thanks for your help guys, the hamsters and gerbils of the world thank you." She skipped away towards another table that looked to be less accepting of her fight for pet's rights. Izzy just laughed as the girl left. "God she's batty. Gotta love her though."

Ollie's head was sideways as he watched the girl walking around for signatures and he received a slap to the side of the head. "Stop being a perv, it's unbecoming. I thought I raised you better than that." He adjusted his glasses again. "Hey, you can't blame me for crushing on one of the few girls that talks to me. I'd crush on you but that'd be awkward for a number of reasons. Plus I'd lose my discount on comics."

The blonde nodded as she cracked open the book now in her hands. "Yeah, my job at The Comic Café is like the best thing to ever happen to you." Ollie did a double take when he saw his book in her hands. "Hey give it back! I'm not done reading yet." She held it just out of reach as he dived across the table for it. "I'll finish it by tonight and you'll get it back tomorrow. You forget, my super power is my amazing ability to speed read and multi-task." He looked up at her questioningly as she stood up, holding his book in one hand and his fries in the other as she walked off. "Hey!"

* * *

Walking down the hallway Dianna chewed her lip as she approached her next class, grimacing the closer she got to the door. It was the worst part of her day for one very big reason. Her boyfriend currently had his arm over her shoulder, oblivious to her worrying as he chatted with Arianna and her boyfriend. Arianna turned to look back at the other brunette. "Hey, what's with your face?" The two boys, one tall and blonde, the other tanned with spiked hair stopped and looked down at the brunette, the blonde boy smiling down at her. "Are you really going to make that face every time you go to Creative Writing? Your face will get stuck like that you know."

She cracked a small smile that soured when she looked back at the open classroom door. "You don't know what it's like Charlie. Having to attend class everyday and come face to face with….that!" She pointed dramatically towards the door, eyeing it critically. Arianna rolled her eyes. "Oh just get over it." she said as the boy behind her chuckled. "Yeah I mean no one even cares about that. And no one would dare make fun of you for it." The blonde jock chuckled and tightened his grip on his backpack and "They're right, you're just gonna have to get used to it. You can't just skip the class Dianna. Don't let it get to you."

She stomped her foot and look at the tall blonde incredulously. "Don't let it get to me? How can I not? It's just not fair, no one else has to deal with this. I didn't even sign up for creative writing. I'm not even good at it. The best poem I ever wrote was ripped off of a Valentine's Day card!" Arianna just shrugged and walked off with the other boy trailing behind her. Dianna glared up at Charlie as he just laughed. "You know if you don't like my 'I don't want to go to Creative Writing' face I can show you the 'My boyfriend's being an ass and will never get to kiss me again' face. It's a real doozey."

He smiles down at the brunette and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Let's not go that far. Look, why not try to have fun with it. It's not the end of the world, it's just Creative Writing. You'll get used to it once you stop being such a sourpuss about it all. Now give me a kiss, I have to get to class." He puckered up goofily, making smooching sounds which drew a laugh from the pouting brunette who leaned up to give him a small peck.

"There now, now that's a face I want to see." He gave her another, longer kiss. His hands moving down to her hips as he pulled her closer. Dianna's eyes popped open and she pushed the blonde boy back, looking over his shoulder and seeing a flash of blonde hair disappearing back into the classroom. "Something wrong?" He looked down at her worriedly, his brows furrowed. "Yes, she's what's wrong!" She growled, looking towards the door as the bell rang.

Charlie sighed and looked up at the clock. "Oh damn, I can't be late for Bio. See you before practice babe!" He rushed down the hall, barely able to spin out of a collision with the dual haired girl. "Whoops, sorry Ronnie." The dual-tone haired girl rolled her eyes as she continued trotting down the hallway. Dianna walked to her classroom a few feet away and entered, refusing to look towards the front of the class. She sat at her desk next to Mickie and ducked her head.

The teacher cleared her throat and looked at the brunette who looked to be trying to hide herself in her desk. "Excuse me Ms. Fabray-Berry, why are you late?" Dianna shrugged her shoulders and kept her gaze on the desk. "Shrugging isn't an answer. Shrugging gets you detention. Shrugging is rude. As is slumping down in your seat." Amber colored eyes looked critically down at the brunette as the teacher began tapping her foot. Dianna sighed and sat up finally looking the teacher in the eyes for the first time. "I was talking with my boyfriend and we lost track of time."

"Making out in the hallway again Dianna? Not good. I'll be keeping my eye on you. Now please recite the poem at the top of page seventy-five of Miller's _"Poetry in Motion."" _The students all opened to the page as Dianna sighed, mumbling out an "Alright." Before she could start reading the teacher held a hand out, signaling for her to stop. "Just 'Alright'? I don't think so. Be more respectful than that."

Dianna rolled her eyes, hearing a few titters from her classmates. "Sorry Mrs. Fabray-Berry." At the front of the room Quinn smirked for a moment. "Sorry for what Dianna?" After another huff the brunette answered. "Sorry for being late and for my attitude Mrs. Fabray-Berry. It won't happen again."

Dianna glared when she saw her mother's half-smirk a moment before the older woman turned to write on the board. "Thank you for the apology, now start us off Dianna." She nodded and sat back down, shrinking into her seat again as she started to recite the poem, focused on one thought. 'My mother is evil.'

* * *

It was the last class of the day and Mr. Chance was currently engaging in a staring contest with his students. He tapped his foot impatiently, taking another look around the room. "Anyone? Can someone tell me how to start the equation at least?" He was still met with blank and confused faces. Heaving out a sigh he went back to the board and commenced showing the students how to solve for the Y variable. "Alright, so maybe I went a little too fast the first four times so I'll do it once more and please if at any point you get confused, just ask me about it." His voice near pleading as her began to go over the problem again.

It had been like this all day. Him trying to teach, the students all being unaware of what he was saying, his headache growing increasingly more painful as the day went on. Mason suspected that he was anticipating the day's end even more than the students as his eyes swept over the clock for the hundredth time in the passed ten minutes. None of them seemed to get it or even care about getting it and it was driving him insane. His back turned to the students he rolled his eyes and placed the marker back at the bottom of the board to and pulled worksheets out from his bag and started handing them out.

"This is tonight's homework. These are just some general math problems covering everything you should've learned up 'til this point with some more complicated problems thrown in to test you. They won't be graded, I simply want to get a better idea of where you guys are and what I have to go over." The bell finally chimed as he handed out the worksheet and he sighed in relief at finally being free of his hellish first day.

Mason gathered his things, watching the kids scramble through the hallway through narrowed eyes. He looked up when he heard footsteps approaching and brightened a little when he spotted Ms. Potts in his doorway. She looked up at him with trepidation written all over her face. "So how bad was your first day?" For the first time all day he laughed. "How could you tell?" The redheaded librarian shrugged. "Well I just remember my first day was filled with lots of awkwardness and an overwhelming feeling of failure. Plus you sort of look like someone made a field goal with your puppy." She nodded certainly as she rested back against one of the desks. "Now tell me, how bad was it?"

Mr. Chance nodded, putting his bag back down on his desk. "I couldn't get anything out of them all day. Not one person asked a question. Or answered one. I've never heard silence so awkward before." He rubbed his temple again as he started pacing. "I mean not one person asked a question even though they were obviously stumped. That or they just don't care. Or maybe I'm just a bad teacher."

Ms. Potts shook her head, smiling sadly up at the rambling man. "Don't get so worked up. It was your first day, there're supposed to be awkward and off-putting. Now you can start tomorrow without any expectations." He nodded unsurely as she continued. "And don't take it so personal. Teenagers are little sadists. They don't stop until they've beaten the passion for this job out of you. They make you hate the room you worked so hard to get to. They never put any of the books back where they belong. It's not that hard! They're in alphabetical order!"

Mason looked down at her weirdly, one eyebrow raised as he patted her on the shoulder testily. "Are you ok?" She snapped out of her rant and looked up at him embarrassed, cheeks flushed as she calmed down. "Just fine. It's just uh…well sometimes at the end of the day I have to decompress a little. I was on my way out to the fields when I saw you here." He nodded and slung his bag over his shoulder. "I thought the Library was supposed to be open for at least an hour after school let out."

She nodded as they walked out of the classroom, hitting the lights on their way out. "Well it is. Sort of. We're open for returns. And I'm only one of two Librarians that works here so sometimes she'll keep it open. I, on the other hand, usually leave as soon as that clock strikes three." She looked fidgety as they walked down the hallway. He watched as she swiftly moved down the hallway, needing to walk faster to keep up. "You're kind of afraid of the students aren't you?"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she nodded. "Very. They're unpredictable and volatile. They frighten me." Her eyes shifted around, taking in the still busy hallway. Their stride was stopped when a short blonde girl and a brunette boy with glasses walked right in front of them, the blonde chatting on the phone. "Yeah Mami, Ollie's mom is gonna drop me off at work. No. I can just catch a cab home. Ok fine, I love you too. See you tonight."

She snapped her phone shut and noticed the two teachers. "Oh hey Ms. Potts. We were just looking for you." The blonde smiled up at the Librarian who gave her a nervous smile. The brown eyed boy spoke up "We tried to get to the Library before you left but you're quick. We were hoping you'd let us check something out. I told Izzy the library just got the new Jessica Rowling book."

The blonde looked up at the librarian hopefully, practically hopping in place along with the boy beside her. He recognized the girl as 'Ms. Lopez' from earlier in the day but her whole demeanor had changed. She was relaxed and excited. When she'd been in his class she had been bored and crass. However, she was also the only one who seemed to know anything. The girl in front of him was a completely different person.

"Sorry guys. Those won't be in until next week. I'll make sure you're the first ones I tell though." Both teens seemed to deflate but nodded nonetheless. The blonde's blue eyes seemed to acknowledge his presence for the first time. "Oh hey Mister uh….Algebra." He saw her face scrunch up in concentration for a moment before giving up. Ollie just waved at him from beside her. "It's Mr. Chance. Nice to see you again Ms. Lopez."

She looked worried for a second and grimaced. "Oh right. Well, hope your afternoon goes better." Her and Ollie began walking away but she stopped to dig something out of her backpack and stepped back over to the pair of teachers. "I know it's early but I don't really wanna hang on to it so here's the homework assignment you handed out. A little easy if you ask me but it'll probably give you a good idea of where most people are. Prepare for disappointment. Bye Ms. Potts." She waved good-bye as she rejoined her friend.

He took a moment to look over the sheet and wasn't sure whether or not to be surprised that from what he could see all of her answers seemed to be on the mark. He shook his head and looked back at the doors they had exited through. "That girl she…"

Ms. Potts smiled and nodded. "Yep. That's Izzy. She can be a handful but don't let her fool you, she's one of the good one. So is her friend. And that's what makes all this worthwhile." She turns the corner, stepping away from him as he looks at her questioningly "Makes what worth it?" Ms. Potts holds her arms out. "All of this. All the awkward days and blank stares are worth it if we just get to teach kids like them. At least you'll know one person is listening. I'll see you tomorrow." She walked off, leaving him smiling. Taking a deep breath he walked out of the school, wondering what the next day would hold and hoping it'd be better than today.

* * *

AN: A rather busy chapter depicting a "normal" day at Quigley High School and introducing quite a few new characters and setting up several characters to be introduced later. I hope you guys enjoyed. Please continue to review, I like hearing from you all so please don't be shy and just hit that button down there and drop me some of your thoughts!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thank you for the reviews. This chapter goes through a normal Saturday in our character's lives and introduces a few new faces. They are:

Tyler James Williams as Edison Chambers

Josh Hutcherson as Britt

Raja Fenske as Tal

I hope you guys enjoy it! Please review!

* * *

The alarm sounded with the clock reading 8:00 AM Saturday. A tanned hand crept out from underneath a mass of light green blankets to slap the top of the alarm, halting the annoying sound. Soon the mass of cloth began to move and from underneath it emerged Dianna Fabray-Berry, her hair a mess and eyes droopy as she shifted to the edge of the bed. After one failed attempt at standing up she finally stood up, forgoing slippers as she walked out of her room, painted a bright green with posters depicting every band and artist she liked and a wall adorned with vast amounts of pictures of her with friends and family.

She barely dodged a small blonde dressed in purple pajamas running passed her shouting. "Nuh uh Cass, I get the remote this morning and we're watching cartoons!" Dianna yawned as an identical blonde dressed in pale yellow pajamas ran around her. "Lexie, get back here! I don't wanna watch cartoons! I want to watch Barbra!" The teen stumbled into the kitchen where she barely registers her mothers' conversation as she shuffles over to the refrigerator.

"Quinn, no grading papers at the table. We have a rule." The older blonde shook her head and looked up from the paper with a big C- on it. "If I get this done now, we'll have all the time in the world to spend on just us. Don't you remember how much fun I can be when I have nothing on my plate?" She waggled her eyebrows at her wife standing at the counter, causing the older brunette to blush.

Dianna walked right between them carrying a carton of milk, leaning up to open the cupboard and pull out a box of Choco-Crispies Cereal before sluggishly moving to the table and sitting down. "Fine, but just this once. It has been a while since we've gotten to go out. And even longer since we've gotten the house to ourselves." Rachel said, leaning down to peck Quinn's lips before handing her a cup of coffee then leaning over to hand the groggy teen a spoon.

She accepted it with a small grumble and began to chow down. The two older women shared a smile before Quinn went back to grading papers. Rachel cleared her throat, trying to get the younger brunette's attention but it was to no avail as the girl continued to look down into her cereal bowl as she munched on her breakfast. Rachel sat down at the head of the table to spread butter on her toast, smiling at her daughter.

"You know Dianna, it's really nice of you to babysit your sisters for us tonight." As expected the teen sputtered out her cereal and turned wide brown eyes on her mothers, first Rachel and then Quinn. "What? No! I never agreed to that, you guys can't just take away my Saturday! I respect the fact that you guys haven't gotten to go out in a while but shoveling those beasts into my lap when I already have plans! Why would you-"

The riled up teen stopped when she saw the mischievous glint in Rachel's eyes and the smirk on Quinn's face as she checked off another paper. She grunted before turning her attention back to her cereal mumbling. "Tricky moms. Always messin' with me." Both of her mothers laughed lightly. "Oh honey, I'm sorry. I just had to wake you up somehow. Don't worry about your sisters, your Aunts Santana and Brittany will be taking them for the day."

Dianna nodded and took another bite. Quinn looked up from the paper in her hands for a moment. "So what're you doing today? Hanging out with Izzy?" The teen shook her head. "Oh. The boyfriend then?" She said unenthusiastically, garnering her a look from the young brunette. "That's one of the things I love most about you Mom. Your subtlety." Rachel covered up her smirk as her wife shot a glare her way. "Well you know how I feel about him. About High School boys in general. There's a lot of potential for this whole 'Us letting you date' thing to go horribly, horribly wrong and as much as I love saying I told you so to your Mama, I don't want to be right in this situation."

The teen rolled her eyes, chewing another mouthful of cereal. "I told you guys you don't need to worry. I have him totally whipped and thanks to the two of you I literally have the hardcover on 'What Not To Do In High School'. Not to mention all of the your articles you not so sneakily leave in my room." She grinned and raised her eyebrows as she stared down her blonde mother who shrunk back slightly.

Before becoming a teacher Quinn had been a fairly prominent writer for numerous magazines, primarily writing on teenage and High School issues that ranged from dealing with feelings of inadequacy to how to come to terms with sexual orientation, and several award-winning articles on dealing with teen pregnancy. Quinn sighed and looked back down at the paper in her hands. "Mistakes can still be made. All it takes is one moment of poor judgment for you to make the wrong decision."

Dianna shrugged before continuing. "I know that and you know I'll make mistakes. But you also know that I'm not going to make a colossal mistake like getting pregnant. I'm smarter than that, I may roll my eyes but I read all your articles. I've read the book twice. And I looked at Mama's charts which are all incredibly frightening." Rachel shot her a small smile before taking a sip of coffee. "Point is I won't screw up my life for some boy, no matter how much I like him." She nodded confidently.

Quinn smiled softly as she wrote a big F on a paper, setting it down and smiling at her daughter across the table. "Rachel when did we raise such a reasonable and intelligent daughter?" Rachel laughed as she went to refill her cup. "Well she's our daughter so she's argumentative, somewhat organized, and thinks she's smarter than she is."

The teen rolled her eyes as she took the last bite of her meal. "You won't be alone with him though, will you?" Quinn raised one eyebrow as she questioned the younger brunette who sighed. "We were planning to get a room for the afternoon at one of those really nasty and shady roadside motels but now that I know you're worried I think we'll just go to the mall with Arianna, Tal, and Mickie instead." She placed her bowl in the sink as she grinned back at her mother who stuck her tongue out at her. A tiny stomp from across the room drew all their attention to the tiny six-year old blonde with arms crossed as she looked up at them.

"I appreciate heartfelt family moments however I request your assistance." Said the blonde adorned in yellow pajamas. To say that she had inherited Rachel's mannerisms and personality would be an understatement. Rachel smiled and swooped down to pick up the child, holding her against her hip. "What's wrong Cassandra?" The blonde pointed back at the living room with a pout. "Lexie insists that we watch cartoons but there's a Barbra Streisand Special on right now!" Quinn smiled but rolled her eyes at the tiny blonde's reasoning.

"Cass I know you want to watch it but it is your sister's turn to choose what to watch this morning. But I know for a fact that they're showing it again tomorrow. We'll watch it together then ok?" Rachel placed the nodding blonde back down. "Crisis averted. Now go endure your sister's cartoons alright?" She rushed back into the living room with her sister as Dianna smirked.

"Well it's been real but I'm going to go join them and veg out in front of the TV for a bit until it's time for me to get all pretty." She smiled back at her mothers and exited the room, leaving both older women smiling.

* * *

Mason Chance sat at his kitchen table, looking down at his food with a bemused smile. "Yeah. My week didn't really get much better. I really didn't want to bother you but I just don't know what to do. I mean I've never had trouble breaking the ice with students before. Plus all these kids seem intent on not learning anything. Any advice Uncle Will?"

Sitting across the table from him was an older Will Schuester, looking quite well for being north of fifty. A soft smile came over his face as he poured out another drink for his nephew. "Well your friend was right when she told you not to take it personal. You'll just tear yourself up if you do. There were tons of times when I was teaching at William McKinley High where I wanted to tear my hair out. But I endured and adapted and they became some of the best years of my life."

"But that was you Uncle Will. You! You've always been so confident and you've always known exactly what you wanted and how to move forward." Will reached over and put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Don't get aggravated. Just calm yourself down and think clearly about all the things you need to deal with. They don't seem to know the basics, they won't ask or answer questions, and they don't pay attention or do the homework. Now just think of how to deal with one of those things first."

Mason nodded and looked to be thinking hard but after a few moments he grunted and slumped back against his chair, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Gah I just can't keep my head clear. I'm all frazzled. I can't think straight."

Will looked sadly at his nephew, patting his shoulder. "Look you're just going through a funk. It happens to everyone. After everything that's happened you're entitled to feel a little off. Are you sure you didn't go back to work too soon?" The younger man smiled across the table at him and took a small sip. "I was excited to get back to work. Now I'm not so sure." He looked down into his drink, swirling it around a little. "You're not considering quitting are you?" Asked the older gentleman.

"No, definitely not. I just don't know how to crack these kids. I've dealt with these awkward classroom silences but eventually someone always speaks out eventually. These kids are an enigma wrapped in an infuriating puzzle box. And I've seen them around the school, arguing and laughing. Being lively. Yet when they're in my class….nothing." Will nodded as he listened to the young math teacher, sighing lightly. "Well I know what you're going through. Not everything of course, but some of it. You just need to think up a way to get to them. A way to catch their attention."

Mason nodded as his uncle continued. "It's obvious they don't care about math. Maybe you should make them care about you. Make them pay attention to you. You used to be great at that." The younger man looked thoughtful for a moment before grimacing. "I don't know, becoming their friend might not be the right strategy."

Will shook his head. "You don't necessarily need to become their friend. Just someone they pay attention to, someone different than all the other boring, monotone teachers that they suffer through all day." As Will spoke a thought popped into Mason's head and he broke out into a smile before laughing and hopping up from his seat. "You're a genius Uncle Will! I know exactly what I need to do."

The gray-haired man smiled up at Mason as he began pacing back and forth, his hands shaking in excitement. "Why didn't I think of it before? I need to wake these kids up! If they won't pay attention to math they'll sure as hell pay attention to my class. I'll give them something to remember." He walked out of the room as his uncle finished off his drink, shaking his head and smirking at Mason's newfound excitement.

* * *

Izzy sat behind the counter, head rested on one hand while the other flipped the page of her comic. She leaned down to take a sip from her soda through a neon green silly straw. She looked up from the book for a moment to see the leering eyes of a prepubescent boy who quickly averted his gaze when she saw him. Unsurprised she returned her gaze to the comic and flipped another page. A stocky bearded man walked out from a door to the right of the counter she was sitting behind and scoffed when he saw her.

"You know Isabelle, you could at least make it look like you're working. You look unprofessional like that." She gave the man with graying hair a look, raising her eyebrow as she cracked a smile. "Uh Doug, I work in your comic book shop, not the U.N. I don't think I'm offending anyone's ideals on the professionalism of comic book shops." She smirked and pointed over at two leering boys. "It's not even all that busy today anyway."

He grunted out something unintelligible as he placed a box down in front of her. "Fine. At least go refill the Eaglemoss Statue shelves. We're out of Silver Surfer, Thor, and Quasar so get a few of those up and write down whatever else we might need." As he was talking she ripped into the box, making the older man sigh. "Look the Karolina statue isn't out yet. It's not out until next month."

"We both know they screw up and send them out early sometimes. I need to make sure I get my hands on it before any of these grubby little-" She reached into the box and Doug slapped her hand, receiving a glare from the blonde. "You only get one if we have enough, and if you do a good job, now shoo." He waved her off and took a seat behind the counter as she rolled her eyes and picked up the box, walking over to a set of shelves against the wall in the far corner of the store.

The shop was divided in two parts, one half held all the comic books, trade paperbacks, hard covers, manga, actions figures, statues, DVDs, cards, and various other geeky paraphernalia while the other half of the store was made up to be a small café with a small counter towards the front as well as couches, tables and booths. With a notebook in hand Izzy began to fill the shelves, taking down notes on what was in and what was out when the jingling of the door and a voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Hello my people! How are you all on this fine Saturday afternoon?" Yelled out Ollie as he stepped into The Comic Café, winking at a girl sitting at one of the couches alone. Predictably he received no answer from the other patrons except a small "Shut the hell up!" from an unseen customer.

As Ollie approached Izzy held out a small box to him. "There you go, the new Valkyrie statue. Now go!" He smiled at his friend as she tried to wave him off. "Hey, come on. I'm not that bad, am I?" Ollie put on a look of mock offense as the blonde nodded, still preoccupied with putting up the small statue boxes. "You do remember that Doug kind of hates you right?" The bespectacled young man shrugged, his smile never wavering.

"No way. He's totally over it by now. He knows I didn't mean to knock over that stack of books, I just really, really needed to scope out this piping hot betty in the other aisle." She moved over as she went to refill the other shelf. "Yeah and you almost killed the aforementioned betty. You know, you're real lucky no lawsuits came out of that. Now please take your figure and go." Pleaded the blonde, stopping for a moment to look up at her friend.

Ollie sighed and nodded. "Alright. But know this, work has made you a total square. Pre-Work Izzy would've found that hilarious. Just like this. Ohh ohh." Ollie began to attempt a moon walk and several pop and locking techniques with all the grace of a toddler trying to walk. Izzy hid her smirk but after a few more 'Robot' moves she busted out laughing. "Ok, ok! Stop, just go pay before you break anything else. I'll see you later."

"There's no stopping this robot. Not for a second." Ollie danced over to the counter, placing the statue down and turning to look at a girl a few feet away. "Hey there. Impressed by these sweet moves of mine?" Ollie sprang out into the running man and received a look of disgust from the girl before she walked out. "Man some people just need to loosen up, right Dougie?" He turned to look back up at the man behind the counter with a smirk which was wiped from his face the second he saw Doug's glare. "Uh that'll be $13.50, right?" Doug nodded and Ollie handed over a few bills. The exchange was silent and Ollie exited swiftly, escaping the man's gaze.

As he left Izzy stepped back in front of the counter, placing the now empty box on the counter with the notebook. She took her soda from the counter and started sipping on it as Doug looked over the list. "What do these asterisks mean?" She raised her eyebrows before answering. "Oh. Those are the ones I want." Doug just sighed again and nodded his assent. "You're lucky you're the best damn worker I have or else I'd take it out of your paycheck."

"You know you love me Doug. I'm your ace, your all-star. The one you can depend on to-" He took the soda from her hands "To be a pain in my ass? I know. Now go and tell Edison to get out." The blonde rolled her eyes as she looked over the older man's shoulder to see a young smartly dressed black teen sitting at one of the tables in the café. "Why the hell can't Shania do it? Or Ron? They actually work in the café part of The Comic Café. I'm comics, they're café, see what I'm getting at here."

Doug nodded and turned to look over at the café too. "Yeah but you're the only one that's ever been able to get him to leave. Remember he made Ron cry and got Shania to quit for a week?" The tiny blonde huffed and nodded, Doug gave her a small 'Thank you.' as she made her way over to the table. She looked down at the young man, who was too preoccupied with his book to acknowledge her.

The blonde rolled her eyes and pulled out the chair opposite him and reached over to grab his cup which was empty. She cleared her throat but still got no reaction from the boy. Finally she reached over and pushed his book down, earning a glare from the young man on the other side of the table. "What do you want Isabelle?" She groaned at the use of her full name. "Same thing as always Edison. You have to leave." He scoffed and went to raise his book back up but she held it down. "I'm serious, up and at'em buddy. Scooch. Sayonara. See ya next week. Scram."

He sat back and crossed his arms with a bemused smirk on his face. "I don't think so. Nice try though." She sighed and pulled his book away from him, smiling as he narrowed his eyes. "Look, you know the rules. If you want to hang out here, you have to buy something. No shoppy, No chill spot. So buy something or leave."

He lifted his cup and shook it back and forth. "The girl at the counter filled my cup with water, doesn't that count?" She shook her head. "It technically makes me a patron of the shop. I received service. Just because the service was free doesn't make me any less of a patron. If I was sitting here with a coffee I got for free because I had a coupon would you still be trying to kick me out?"

"I guess that depends on whether or not you were still being you usual charming self. And you know that's different, the coupon counts as cash exchanged. The water is less of a service and more of a courtesy, courtesies don't count as purchases." Edison clasped his hands together as he looked at the blonde girl across from him. "Well this establishment hasn't really made that clear has it? Why should I be penalized because you were non-specific on the difference between a service and a courtesy."

Izzy sighed, growing tired of the exchange. "Oh don't go getting all righteous. You don't have a leg to stand on here. Last thing we need is another silent protest of principles by a party of one named Edison Chambers." He shrugged and plucked his book from her hands. "I just don't want to be expelled due to a tiny technicality. I have as much right to be here as your precious comic fan boys. They haven't even paid for those books yet."

She cracked a smile. "Well you see unlike you, they know better than to try and pull something over on us. Just because you can intimidate and outsmart the Barista Buddies back there doesn't mean you can do the same to me. Please just leave, there are dozens of other coffee shops in town for you to terrorize with your over rationalization and refusal to partake in the many lovely beverages offered." He looked down for a moment before nodding.

"You know what? Ok. You win the day. Mostly because I know how annoying you can be until I leave. I will be back next week though, this week's debate was lacking. Goodbye Isabelle." Edison stood and grabbed his book and cup before exiting the shop. Izzy stood and approached the counter of the café. "It's ok to come out now." A blonde head popped out from behind the counter, gripping the edge and looking around nervously. "Are you sure? He's really gone?"

She nodded, playing with two of the straws on the counter. "Yep. The Big Bad is all gone Ron, you can get back to work now." The blonde boy stood fully, towering over Izzy as he leant over to hug her tight. "Thank you so much. H-He's inhuman. T-too smart." She nodded and patted to overly sensitive boy on the back. "There, there big guy. He won't hurt you anymore but if this hug lasts any longer you'll have to buy me dinner."

* * *

Bored brown eyes watched on as two adults stood across from him, both holding open books in their hands as they talked animatedly. The brown eyed young man rolled his eyes, unable to hear the argument but aggravated by it nonetheless. He ran his hand through his combed down brown hair.

"'No honey, the majesty and romance of Venice is completely understated in this book. If you can even call it a book!' 'But love, the author is merely trying to give the reader a more well-rounded view.' 'Life is about extravagence, not balance!' Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." he said, acting out the two adults' conversation. A small laugh to his left caught his attention as he craned his neck to see who it was.

A leggy brunette dressed in a very short denim skirt plopped herself down on the spot beside the boy. "That was really funny. I'm guessing those are your parents?" She crossed her legs, letting her foot bump his knee as she leaned closer to him. He nodded, giving her a confused look. "Yeah. They always do this. They just have to review every travel guide they see."

The beautiful girl laughed again and put her hand on his knee, causing him to clear his throat and shift back a little, the same look of confusion still on his face. "Oh I know. Parents can be such a hassle. Every time daddy throws a charity ball for whatever cause is 'in' at the moment he's unbearable. And don't even get me started on mom. She's always rushing us from store to store trying to find the right dress and I'm just like, 'Mom, chill! We look good in anything.'" She smiled again in his direction, seemingly enjoying her own story.

To his credit the boy half smiled at the girl, nodding along with her. "Ha uh yeah, I think we have very different problems. But that's really…..interesting? Yeah, interesting. Anyway, you're Adrianne right?"

"It's Arianna. You're Britt, right? You just started at Quigley High." She began to rub his knee and he shifted fully away from Arianna, standing up. "That's me. Nice to meet you." She stood up with him, stepping closer. "Nice to finally meet you too, I apologize for being so rude and not introducing myself to you sooner. I'm usually much more polite and…accommodating."

Britt looked over her left shoulder, then her right to see his parents in the checkout line, still arguing. "Ah ok, well thanks for being so nice. I guess. I'll see you around school but I have to go." The brunette cheerleader put on a small pout and put her hand on his shoulder. "Aww, so soon? How come?"

He smiled uneasily before taking a few more steps away from her. "Well my parents in line and your boyfriend looks kind of pissed." Britt made his escape as Arianna turned to look back at her boyfriend, who looked to be fuming, and her friends, who seemed bored except for Mickie, who was giggling as she flipped through a book pointing out passages and showing them to Dianna. She put on a bright smile as she walked back over to them, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Hey baby."

"Don't 'Hey baby' me. You were just all up on that vanilla pop tart over there. What the hell Ari?" The tan skinned boy looked down at his girlfriend incredulously. He could hear a small 'Here they go again.' from Dianna as she and Charlie stood behind them. Arianna just shrugged, her smile never wavering. "Oh, that? Tal, baby. Don't worry. That was nothing, I was just passing the time."

He shook his head and scoffed. "So you pass the time by just going around flirting with other guys?" Arianna just nodded and took a step back. "I do when my boyfriend's being an ass. You haven't complimented me enough today and you aren't holding all my bags. And don't think I haven't seen you scoping out every girl that walks your way Tal." The football player gulped and held his hands out and back up a few steps.

"You know what? Fine, whatever. Hey Charlie, let's hit the Sports Authority." Charlie sighed and kissed to top of Dianna's head before following Tal as he stalked off angrily. Arianna watched them for a moment and shrugged again. "That boy, can you believe him? Getting all huffy like that. It's unseemly." She smiled as she saw Britt and his parents leaving the store, shooting one last wink at the boy.

"Yeah, totally uncalled for. Charlie and I hit on other people all the time." Dianna said sarcastically. Arianna just laughed it off as Dianna looked around. "I'm just trying to keep my man on his game. The more threatened he feels, the more attention he pays me. Plus getting him riled up before a football game makes him play better. Besides, if he ever breaks up with me I need to have some guys on deck, a girl like me can't be single for long. You should be taking notes." Dianna rolled her eyes as she continued looking around the bookstore. "What the hell are you looking for?"

Arianna tried to see what the other brunette was looking at but couldn't see a thing. "Mickie was here a second ago, I don't know where she got off to." Dianna said, drawing a groan from Arianna. "Aw crap. I hope she didn't find the storeroom again. That got us kicked out of American Eagle. Who knew they had so much to hide." The pair of brunettes stalked off in search of their bright red haired friend.

* * *

If Izzy had known the rest of her day was going to go by this slowly she would've let Edison stay. At least he had provided momentary distraction from the monotony of restocking the comic book shelves and manning the check out counter (a coincidental name considering the ogling she received from several boys throughout the day). She had to strive to keep herself from falling asleep as the store went through the Saturday Slump they always experienced after 3 PM.

At the moment she was sitting at one of the couches in the café, sitting across from Shania who was excitedly chatting away about the new pet she'd adopted. "My mom wasn't all too supportive but after she read the pamphlets I printed out and saw the blueprints I'd made out for his living quarters and made her understand that I could cover all the expenses, she caved! What do you think I should name him?" Izzy shook her head as she took another sip of her tea. "I don't know. I'm still stuck at the part where you said you're adopting a raccoon. By the way, what is this?"

The blonde pointed down at her drink and the girl across from her smiled again, sipping from her own cup. "It's a Jasmine Strawberry Lemonade Green Tea Blend. What's wrong? Don't like it?" Shania looked over at her friend, eyebrows furrowed until Izzy shook her head. "No. I love it. I don't know how you do it but you always know exactly what to get me."

Shania just giggled and held her hands out, shrugging. "I have a gift for saving the world and making fantastic tea blends. It's what I do." Izzy laughed at her friend's confidence before taking a moment to turn and kneel in her seat, looking back at the barren counter of the comic store portion of the shop. "Are you sure it's ok for you to be over here?" The blonde nodded as she sat back down.

"Totally. No one's bought anything in over an hour. Doug knows better than to keep me cooped up like that." Shania played with her long braid, nodding. "That's true. I remember when you led that mutiny because he didn't let you have snacks behind the counter. The pirate costume was a lovely touch." They both laughed at the memory and turned to look at the door as it jingled and Izzy let out a loud groan.

"Remember Izzy, she's like a snake. She's cold-blooded and likely to strike from out of nowhere." The tan girl nodded affirmatively before taking another sip of her drink. Izzy seemed to be trying to shrink down in her seat. "Sure, whatever. Just duck down, I really don't want to have to deal with her today."

"Deal with what? Your scuffed sneakers, the fact that stripes are out or the horribleness that is these ever present head accessories of yours. Today it's a ribbon, how cute. Trying to look like a real girl for once?" Izzy groaned when she heard Arianna speak out and looked up to see the head cheerleader standing beside the table. The blonde just shrugged looked down, keeping her mouth shut. "What? No rebuttal?"

Izzy took another sip of her drink, still not addressing the brunette beside them. "Nice to see you Arianna but we're working. Oh, would you like one of our specials today. We have-" Arianna held out a hand, halting Shania's question. "That's enough from you Nutbar. What's wrong Izzy? No retorts? No fight? Oh, that's right. You can't talk back to me because until I leave I'm a customer. And just like me, the customer is always right."

Shania frowned and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Izzy standing from the couch. The blonde moved to stand beside Arianna. "Welcome to The Comic Café, how may I help you today? We have a number of teas and coffees for you to indulge in and of course a wide variety of comic books and comic book paraphernalia." Arianna just smiled down at the shorter blonde. "God I love this place. Well aside from the general geek vibes, the ickiness of being near nerds, and the whole dweeb factor. Actually I don't need any of your little comic junk, I'm looking for Mickie."

"You lost her again? You guys ever think she does it on purpose? Like just to mess with you." Arianna scoffed and turned her head back and forth, looking for the girl's red hair. "Yeah whatever. Have you seen her?" Both of the other girls shook their heads. "Are you sure?"

"Are we sure we didn't see a girl with very red hair who would go gaga over that display of plush toys or flip over all the brightly colored baubles in here? Yeah, we're pretty sure." Izzy crossed her arms and nodded, looking tiredly at the taller brunette. Arianna groaned and walked over to another table. A moment later the door jingled again and Izzy smiled when she saw Dianna walking in, her eyes darting around the room before stopping on Izzy.

Dianna walked over to Izzy and greeted her with a short hug. "Hey. How's your day been?" They both let go and Izzy shrugged. "Same as always. I'd like to think you're baring the Geekdom just to see me but I'm guessing you're looking for Mickie." Dianna nodded, rolling her eyes as she looked over at Arianna, who was now sitting down with a pair of boys and sipping on a coffee they'd gotten her. "We haven't seen her."

The brunette moved to sit at the couch and Izzy settled down beside her. She smiled as Dianna grabbed her tea and took a sip. "Mmm Jasmine Strawberry Lemonade Green Tea. Another great choice Shania." Dianna pretended to tip her hat to the girl across from her who just smiled. Doug appeared on the other side of the café-comic shop divider, behind Dianna and Izzy, "Alright Shania, break time's over. Back to work."

Shania nodded and stood, giving the other two girls a small bow. "It's been fun, talk to you later Izzy." The blonde waved as Shania picked up her frock from the chair and flung back on as she walked away. Izzy turned to look at Dianna. "By the way, since when is it ok to just snatch up my drink." She snatched her drink back from Dianna's hand and took a sip herself, making the brunette laugh.

"We've been doing that since we were kids and I have no intention of stopping now. It's tradition." Dianna took the cup back, smiling over the rim as she took another sip. Izzy sunk further back into the couch. "What's mine is yours huh? Ugh it's like we're married but without the benefits." She crossed her arms as Dianna laughed. "Pft, like I'd want to marry you. I just want your stuff."

Izzy let out a mock gasp. "Gold digger! I feel someone should warn poor sweet Charlie." Dianna offered the cup to the blonde who snatched it right up. "You know, I can never tell if you like him or not." Izzy shrugged as she played with the straw, shifting in her seat a bit. "I like him fine. Probably as much as I can like any jock, it helps that he's more bearable. At the end of the day though, he's still a jock and I still think you should be careful."

"Gah, you sound just like my mom. I can't believe I shared your drink with you. You just need to get to know him better." Izzy shook her head as she placed the tea back on the table. "I don't think so. Prolonged exposure to football players can lead to adverse side effects. I grow irritable and potentially violent." Dianna slapped her on the arm playfully and shook her head. "Come on, join us after you get out of work. We're going to see _'Pete and Polly' _then we're going to dinner."

"Ew isn't _'Pete and Polly' _that new yuckity yuck romantic comedy? All sweetness and melodrama, no substance. Yeah, gonna have to decline the invite. Sorry." Izzy stood up from the couch and started walking towards the comic counter. Dianna rolled her eyes and quickly followed after. "Oh come on, I'm sure you'll like it more than you think and even if you don't at least you'll know exactly how to dissect it so you can make fun of it better."

Izzy went to sit back behind the counter and started to check out the couple standing in front. "I don't think so Di. Maybe some other time. As it stands, me, Ollie, and Shania are already going to movies. We're seeing _'March Madness'._ Have a nice day." She turned to the couple momentarily and handed them their bag before looking back at Dianna. "Isn't that a movie about basketball?" Izzy looked down at the other girl with an offended look on her face, scoffing and putting a hand to her chest dramatically. "Yuck, no. It's a new thriller about a serial murderer who only kills during the month of March and the female detective who's spent her career chasing him." Dianna let out a yawn and the blonde glared at her. "Sounds way lame. _'Pete and Polly' _will be number one in the box office this weekend. When it is, you have to come with us to the movies next week."

Izzy grinned. "Alright, but when it isn't you have to have a geeky movie marathon with me." Dianna groaned but nodded, holding out her hand for the blonde to shake. Arianna stomped over to the pair a second later. "God I don't get how you're friends with this freak. Let's go Di, someone said they saw her over at Build-A-Bear." The head cheerleader exited the store and Dianna sighed. "Alright Iz, I'll see you later."

"Later?" The blonde raised her eyebrow questioningly. Dianna stopped at the door. "Yeah, my moms are having 'alone time' today so you're moms are watching Cass and Lexie and there's no way I'm going home tonight. Don't worry, I'll bring some Breadstix from Breadstix." The brunette grinned as she exited, the door jingling behind her. Izzy groaned, Dianna knew she couldn't resist Breadstix.

Izzy watched as a tall blonde walked up to the counter, smiling as she put down a few items. She started checking each item when the girl spoke up. "So was that your girlfriend?" Izzy started coughing, eyes wide as she looked up at the other girl. "Uh n-no, why would you even think that?" The short blonde shifted in her seat as she put the purchases in a bag. The taller woman shrugged her shoulders. "You two just seemed really comfortable is all. Damn shame though, she's missing out."

She shot Izzy a wink and the girl's cheeks went blazing red. Izzy just held the bag out, looking down. "That'll be uhm, $20.31." She quickly handed the taller girl her change, still looking down as she walked out but looked up just in time to see the other blonde shooting one last glance in her direction. Izzy hunkered down in her seat, cheeks still warm. Shania walked up to the counter, surveying her friend with a look of concern. "Izzy, are you ok?"

"Just fine! She wasn't hitting on me!" Shania looked at her, head tilted with a confused expression on her face. 'Ugh I must be the worst closeted gay ever.'

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AN: Another chapter bites the dust and even more new characters were introduced. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Pleeeease keep reviewing, I know there hasn't been much in the way of plot thus far but I'm still laying down the foundations of the characters and whatnot so please stick with me, I have lots of plans.


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